Orphans' Court (see Vital Records)

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic Groups

Germans

Gazetteers

Genealogy

History

Franklin County USGenWeb Project This site has several local histories online for Franklin County, including the 1887 History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania by Bates (1110 pgs).

Published Histories

Land and Property

Land records in Franklin County began in 1784. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder office in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts, indexes, mortgages, leases, grants, sheriff sales, land patents, and maps. Property records include liens as well as livestock brands and estray records.

Migration

Military

French and Indian War

Reverend John Elder, pastor of Derry and Paxtang churches, recruited Scotch-Irish rangers from his congregation in what is now Franklin County (then Cumberland County). Known as the Paxton Rangers or Paxton Boys, they provided security for white settlements between the Blue Mountains and the Susquehanna River. They are remembered for playing a prominent role in Pontiac's War.[3]

Obituaries

Obituaries are generally found in local newspapers where the person died. However, sometimes an obituary is found in the location from which he or she originated. To find an obituary, see the information under the Newspaper heading

Sometimes the fastest way of finding obituaries is to call or email the local public library in the area where the person died. If the library does not have newspapers, a librarian often will know where they are kept. If a death date is known, and the newspapers are at the library, someone on staff will usually make a search for a small fee, or will indicate someone who will do the search.

Taxation

Vital Records

Vital records are handled by the County Orphans' Court. Between the years 1852-1855 Pennsylvania made a failed attempt to record birth, marriage and death events at the county level. While the records for that time period are available, there were few events recorded. County marriage records were kept in earnest in 1885. Births and deaths, at the county level, were begun in 1893 and kept through 1905. Abstracts and copies of vital records are available for some counties, but most are incomplete. For the most complete set of records, always contact the County Orphans' Court.

Birth

Early births 1894–1906 are located at the County Orphans' Court. See the heading Court Records on this page for contact information.

Beginning in 1906 Pennsylvania birth records are available through the Department of of Health. Birth records become public after 105 years. A statewide index is available. Once an individual is located in the index a certificate can be obtained by writing to:

Marriage

Franklin County marriages are maintained by the Register of Wills. Franklin County began recording marriages in 1885. To obtain a marriage record you may go to or mail the Register of Wills.

A free online index with images to some Franklin County marriages can be found in the FamilySearch Records Collection, Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885 – 1950. Most of the records consist of marriage licenses, certificates, applications, docket books, and affidavits. These records have been microfilmed.

Divorce

Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary. The office of the Prothonotary is located in the courthouse annex building.

Death

Franklin County began recording deaths in 1893 although some were recorded from 1853–1854. Records from 1893 – 1905 are available on the 2nd Floor of the County Courthouse Annex in Chambersburg. You may request a death record from the Clerk of Courts.

Pennsylvania death certificates become public records after 50 years. An annual index is released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Records less than 50 years old are kept by the Division of Vital Records and are not public certificates. Only certain people can request a non-public death certificate. To order a non-public representative you must be:

Legal representative of decedent's estate

Immediate family member

Extended family member who indicates a direct relationship to the decedent

Power of Attorney (Please note that a Power of Attorney document is no longer valid upon the death of the individual)

The cost for a non-certified public death certificate is $3.00. Indexes for Pennsylvania public death records are available online through the Department of Health for 1906 through 1961. Once an individual is located in the index a certificate can be obtained by writing to:

FamilyHart Online Database This is an online family database of over 630,000 linked records. There are many Franklin County families in this database. The database grows by 1,000 names per week and is updated online quarterly.